Days Of a Forgotten Time
by 0n3dgeGaming
Summary: After the ending of ReBirth: Guardians, things don't go as... smoothly as some would have liked, as in an unsettling turn of events, Bryce ends up in the past! Lost, confused, and being followed by a stuttering woman who would eventually become a goddess, what the hell is the not so OP anymore OC going to do? Something, I dunno. This is: Days Of a Forgotten Time, or DOFT for short.
1. Chapter 1: DO THE TIME WARP, YEAH!

**(Author's Note)**

 **Well… this is a strange event I see before me.**

 **Hello everyone! And welcome to Days of a forgotten time, or DOFT for short. This was an idea I came up with while pacing around my room, as that is where I get most of my story ideas from.**

 **Now before anything is said, I have no intention on keeping to an upload schedule, meaning if I lose interest, I'll put the story on an indefinite Hiatus. (Kinda like what I've done with all of my other stories…) Basically what I'm saying is, If I lose interest, I'll put it off until I get interested again.**

 **Anyways, with this said, this story takes place after the final chapter of ReBirth: Guardians. You don't need to read it to understand what's going on… but I'd recommend it, because you may get lost during certain parts.**

 **Also, while the idea I'm about to do is probably not the most original, the story and setting for such is all made up by me, hopefully.**

 **Well, enough standing around here! Let's get this show on the road!**

 **Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HYPERDIMENSION NEPTUNIA! The property is owned by Idea Factory, and Compile Heart. I only own the ideas and characters that are of my own creation. Please support the official release.**

* * *

 _Lighting… The roaring of the thunder sounds as I feel wind smack me in the face, but I stay composed._

 _I stare at the monster in front of me, it looks at me with slight disgust and yet… a familiarity that shouldn't be possible._

 _I aim my M6H2 at the Monster, my eyes hardening._

 _A bolt of lightning strikes in the middle of the gap between us, I find myself staring back into a pair of Purple Eyes, and a face that looked like it came from a mirror._

 _As the light from the lightning strike faded, everything went dark, only the sounds of thunder was there now…_

 _All I see… is a pair of purple eyes… dead… purple eyes…_

 **(LINE BREAK)**

I bolt up from the bed with a start, placing a hand on my chest. I sigh, before hopping down. I look over to my left, seeing that my girlfriend hadn't woken up yet.

I sigh, before throwing on some jeans and a purple t-shirt. I silently closed the door before walking to the kitchen. I needed some iced tea right about now…

I grabbed a can from the refrigerator before cracking the top open, before looking down at my left hand, the faded mark on my hand a reminder of both the good I accomplished, and the bad that followed me like a plague wherever I was.

"You're up early." Said Histoire, as I turned to face the book fairy. She was wearing a tiny night dress that I swear Plutia got from a toy doll.

"And you're up late." I responded, taking a sip from the can in my hand. "Had trouble sleeping." I said, placing the can on the countertop.

"Same nightmare?" Asked Histoire. I nod, before looking at the hallway connecting the kitchen to the bedroom me and Plutia share.

"You're going to have to fill her in eventually. If not now sometime soon." Said Histoire. I sighed, I knew I needed to but I was unsure how to explain it. I don't even think I was able to convey it to Histoire correctly.

"...It didn't last as long this time." I said, turning to Histoire. "Normally it does something else… this time was different."

Histoire closed her eyes and thought about it, before opening them back up. "I'm not sure what to say about that…" She said, as I picked the can back up. "If I remember correctly, you said you'd do some Quests from the Guild."

"That is true facts…" I said, before chugging the rest of the can, tossing it into the recycling bin nearby. "I better get a head start then."

I walked over to my coat that had been laid against a chair, before grabbing it. I slipped it on as I attached my hidden blade to my right arm.

I walked back to my room, before grabbing my M6H2 Magnum, as well as my phone and headphones. I looked over at Plutia's sleeping form. Smiling, I walked out of the room, nodding at Histoire as I made my way to the Guild.

* * *

The ambient sounds of adventurers, adrenaline junkies, and loot hoarders were commonplace in Planeptune's guild, as it was the hot spot form a quick way to earn cash… as well as most people's way of getting exercise. However, a select few have the luxury of the quests they take end up going towards share percentage, and I happen to be one of them.

I poke the holoscreen of the quest board, finding a few fetch quests and a few monster elimination ones that should keep me busy most of the day.

I select the quests before linking them to my ID Card, making it so that the guild knows I've taken the quests and so that once they're completed, they know I'm on my way to drop the completed quests off.

It was a system that was implemented before my arrival, but wasn't updated to the way it is now until only recently.

I slip my headphones onto my head as I head my way to Otori Forest.

The minutes of walking pass by as I bob my head to the music playing through my headphones. As I look out in front of me, I pull out my magnum. Time for some fetch quests.

 **(Much Questing Later…)**

 _Let's see… that should do it. I think I'm done for today._ I thought, as I went over my mental checklist. "I should head back to the Guild. The sun's setting already."

I turn around to head back to the guild, as I'm stopped by the appearance of what appears to be a skeletal looking figure. It was is they hadn't eaten in days and their body refused to let itself die.

"...You okay there? No offense, but you look like the inside of other people's *ssh*l*s…" I said, walking towards the figure. They looked up at me, as hollow eye sockets glared at me, before it let out a screech, a wave of unease shaking me to the core.

"Please don't be a redead…" I said aloud, as I extended my hidden blade. The figure suddenly appeared before me as I blinked, a long bony finger pointed at my forehead. I couldn't blink, couldn't move, as it slowly connected with my forehead.

The reaction was immediate, as I felt myself being flung off my feet, my back slamming into a big tree. Suddenly the area around me began to warp, as the figure degraded into dust.

The trees and grass around me began to change, as if they were both growing, decaying and shrinking at the same time. What seemed like years blurred into my mind in a matter of seconds, as I saw the forest slowly grow more wild, as if it was reverting to a time when it wasn't as touched by man as it was then.

Eventually, I fell off the tree, but at the same time I wished I hadn't, as I turned around to see the tree was gone, as if it hadn't existed. In it's place was a sapling.

I spun in a circle, as what looked like dead trees suddenly return to good health, branches flying back to their rightful place, and the sun and moon spinning out of control around me.

...And then it suddenly stopped.

I felt myself stumble, as I stopped to regain my balance. I looked around, one thing was for certain.

"I'm not in kansas anymore, huh…" I said to myself, before retracting my hidden blade. I looked around, the forest had overgrown, as I sighed.

"This is going to be a pain, isn't it?" I asked myself, sighing as I put my hands on my hips.

"Well well well, what do we have here boys?" A man asked, as I turned around to see a group of 3 unsavoury looking individuals.

"A 16 year old whose lost. Anything else you'd like to add to that?" I deadpanned, subtly reaching for my Magnum.

"Yeah, a smart*ss. And you boys know what we do with smart*ss." Said the man, as he pulled out a dagger of sorts, his goons following suit. The man rolled his sleeves up, as I just raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Rolling up the sleeves?" I asked, hands at my side. The Goons charged at me, as I grabbed my Magnum, double tapping the first goon, before kicking the shin of the other, hidden blade going into his skull. Both goons exploded into a burst of pixels, signalling they've been sealed.

"Now we can do this the easy way, or the hard way." I said, getting into a stance. "And here's a secret, there is no easy way."

The Man growled at me, before charging with a roar of anger. I smirked, sidestepping the attack, before tripping him as I brought my arm out to clothesline him. He landed onto the ground with a grunt, as I pointed my magnum at him, sealing him.

"Just where the hell did I end up?" I asked myself, as I looked around. Deciding it would be a stupid idea to wait until they were unsealed, I put my magnum away and retracted the hidden blade.

I looked around, before running off. If I hurried, I'd have time to set up a campfire and set up a camp of some kind.

* * *

I sat in front of the fire, as I chowed down on a bird I had cooked over the fire. Now normally I wouldn't eat bird, but since I was out in a forest in a place that seemed… not right, I didn't really give a damn.

As I was chowing down on my food, I heard a rustling to my right. I turned to my right, finding a girl who looked to be in her late teens, early twenties crawl out. She looked as if she hadn't eaten in awhile, not bony like the last guy, but still to a concerning level.

She had sky blue hair that was in a mess, and wore glasses that had the left side of them a bit broken. The glasses still worked, but they weren't in the best of shape. She had an air of familiarity, like I had seen her before, but not in this state.

She looked up at me in worry, like she had just walked into a shootout. A growl was heard from her stomach, so I grabbed some of the cooked bird I had gotten and held it out to her.

Next thing I know the cooked bird is out of my hand and the girl is eating as if this was the first meal she's had in a year. And while I know that isn't humanly possible… I can't be sure with how this place is.

"...You alright?" I asked, as she finished. She looked up at me in a mix of confusion and slight fear.

"..." She remained silent. I looked at the fire, before holding out the rest of the bird. I wasn't that hungry anyways. As the same as before, she had eaten it in a matter of minutes.

"...W-why…?" A small voice asked me, as I turned to the woman. She seemed to have slight tears in my eyes. "...W-why did you help me?"

I looked at the fire. "...I dunno… Seemed like the right thing to do…" I said, a hand on my right cheek, as I lazily sat down. "You seemed hungry, and I was full anyways so… you know…"

"..." The woman stayed quite at this, as she looked at the fire.

"You can come closer. I'm sure as hell not going to hurt you if that's what you're worried about." I said, looking over at her.

She looked at me, before scooting over. She seemed to shiver at the heat, as if the heat had made the cold she was feeling before move to one area along her back.

I held my hand out. "...Bryce."

She looked at me in confusion, before shakily holding her hand out.

"...R-rei…" She answered.

' _That's why she looks familiar!_ ' I thought to myself. I then remembered who Rei Ryghts was in the Victory story. With this knowledge, and how she was right now, and how everything around me was… a lot more dense, one thought came into my mind that confirmed where I was.

' _...I'm in the f*cking Past…'_

* * *

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Welp, there we go. One chapter done.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this. The story following this chapter will focus on the past of the Ultradimension Bryce resides.**

 **And if any of you ask: 'But won't this cause a paradox or something?', I'll point you in the direction of my answer for how the ending of ReBirth: Guardians works.**

 **Closed time loop.**

 **So yeah, now that I've gotten that out of the way, I need to get the mandatory, follow and review stuff out of the way.**

 **But I'd like to focus more on the reviews. If you can, PLEASE review. Feedback from my readers is WHY I keep writing. It gives me a reason TO write. If I don't have that drive, then things go on Hiatus and I lose interest.**

 **With that out of the way, I have things to write.**

 **And Until next time…**

 **ALT+F4**


	2. Chapter 2: Rumours of a safe haven

**(Author's Note)**

 **Hey guys! 0n3dgeGaming here, and welcome back to another chapter of DOFT, or Days of a forgotten time.**

 **I'm super thankful to all of you who have followed and favourited the story so far, this means a LOT to me.**

 **With all that said, time for reviews!**

 **Reviews:**

 **To Acallaris: Hope the chapter that follows peaks your interest as well then, my friend.**

 **To** **AlLu Al: Rei doesn't get much love now that I think about it. Don't worry, I plan on keeping her in the heroine spot for most of the story, if not all.**

 **Now with all of that out of the way...**

 **ONTO THE STORY!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Hyperdimension Neptunia. The property is owned by Idea Factory and Compile Heart. I only own my OCs and the storylines I come up with. Please support the official release.**

* * *

"Um… E-excuse me…? Bryce?" Asked Rei as I was slamming my face into a nearby tree. "A-are you alright…?

"OF ALL THE STUPID! ASININE! SHARK JUMPING B*LLSH*T!"

"...I'll take that as a no…" She said, as she turned back to the fire.

' _Okay Bryce… think, you're in the past… before any nation was made… Before even Tari… as you can see by the hungry Rei… Wait did I just f*ck up the timeline!? Did she not eat the CPU Memory core due to my intervention!? Oh SH*T! WHAT THE F*CK DID I DO!?'_

Safe to say that I continued my headbashing, for at least 3 minutes. After slapping myself, and trying to make it clear to Rei that I'm not a crazy person; but with what my actions have been for the night being that of giving her food, letting her sit near the fire, and THEN bashing my face against a tree, I'm not holding out hope.

Night went by quick, as we woke up to the last ashes of the fire going out.

I sighed, before looking over at Rei. "...So… You have anywhere to go?" I asked, sitting up.

She shook her head, but kept her gaze downcasted. I stood up, stretching. I walked over to her and held my hand out.

"Well… why not come with me?" I asked. "I'm… lost you could say, and you seem to know the area well enough."

Rei took my hand and I helped her up. She was still weak and needed more food, but she was at least a bit more open to me.

"...W-what are you p-playing at?" She asked, taking a step back.

"What am I…?" I began, before realizing what she was implying. "No! No I'm not playing at anything. You can't seem to get your own food and when I gave you some cooked birb you looked at me like I was a godsend." I said. "That tells me that you need help, and since I don't know where to go from here as of right now… Well, why shouldn't we work together to help each other, you'll get food out of it and I won't go insane from lack of social activity. What do you say?"

Rei stopped, and again looked at me like I was the biggest mystery known to man. I guess that's just because of how the time period was around here. No order, complete anarchy to the point of I'm not even sure if their is a safe area, or if the entire world doesn't revolve around the 'The Strong Live, the Weak Die' thing.

I sighed, before looking around. I looked at Rei. "Do you know anywhere we could go? Anywhere that isn't… unsavoury, or filled WITH unsavoury folk?" I asked, as she hesitated, before nodding.

"T-there's a rumour about a place that's peaceful... but it's only a rumour." Rei stopped, before I motioned her to continue. It may be a rumour but it's the best bet I got right now. "It's a place that will take in anyone who needs help out in this cruel wasteland." She said, as I put a hand to my chin.

"What's this place called?" I asked, leaning against a tree.

"Celestia." She said, and I felt like we were back to square one.

' _But… it's better than nothing. Maybe it actually has some kind of manifestation in this time. Welp, we'll only know if we look._ ' I thought, before turning to Rei. "Alright then. That's where we'll go. However, we should see if we can find people who may know where it's located." I said, as Rei seemed a bit uneasy about my thinking.

I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look, for now, we might as well try. Come on, let's get going."

* * *

Our trek through the woods was quiet, as we were unsure how to break the ice.

"...How long was it since you last ate?" I asked, as Rei looked down.

"...2 weeks." She said, as I looked over at her.

"Jeez… that's harsh…" I said, looking out in front of us. "...What was it like growing up? Do you remember your family?"

Rei stayed quiet, as I sighed. "Okay… rough subject I guess."

Our walk continued, until we stumbled upon what appeared to be a camp site of sorts.

It wasn't large by any means, but looked big enough for a few people.

Rei tensed, as I stopped before taking a look around.

"...Hello?" I yelled out, as Rei looked at me like I was insane.

Suddenly a purple blur shot out of the tent, a katana at the ready as the blade was at my neck.

"Leave… we don't want your kind here." The man said, as I got a better look at him.

"And our kind would be…?" I asked, moving the blade out of the way of my neck.

"Trouble." He said, as I looked at Rei.

"I see what you mean by people not really giving out a helping hand." I said, before turning back to the man. "Look, we're just looking for directions. We're looking for a place called Celestia. It's supposed to be a safe haven of sorts."

The man stopped, before the turning around. "They're looking for Celestia!" He shouted, as a man with brown hair walked out, a woodcutter's axe in his right hand, slung over his shoulder.

"...Your armed." The newcomer said in a monotoned voice, pointing at my hidden blade. I brought my arm up, extending the blade before retracting it.

"It's a dangerous world." I said, holding my ground. "I'd prefer not to be killed on it."

The man with the axe held his hand out. I reluctantly unstrapped my hidden blade and handed it to purple in front of me. He quickly hands it to Axey. These names will change in time.

"I don't like this Gwyn…" Said Purple as the man with the axe walked towards me, before taking a few seconds.

"...Stand down Violet, they aren't here for trouble." Said Gwyn, as Violet sheathed his katana. Gwyn tossed me my hidden blade back, allowing me to put it back onto my right arm. (See told you! Names have been established!)

"Well, I guess introductions are in order then." I said, extending my right hand. "Bryce. Bryce Bridged, the girl behind me is Rei."

Rei walked up, before looking down a bit, a tad shy. "Rei Ryghts." She said. Hurray for repetition!

"I'm Violet, this is my friend Gwyn." The man with the katana said, as he pointed to the man with the axe. "...Not many people ask about Celestia's whereabouts." Violet crosed his arms, as he looked over us again, an air of unease still about him.

"Why's that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Gwyn and Violet shared a look, before they turned back to me.

"...You're not from around here, are you?" Asked Gwyn, more like a statement than anything, if his tone was to go by anything.

"...Yeah, let's go with that…" I said, sweat dropping. Violet sighed, before dropping exposition.

"Celestia is what some people believe to be the afterlife here." Said Violet. "So normally when people tend to ask… they ask some… unsavoury people. Next thing they know… they're on a one way trip to Celestia, if you get what I mean."

I nodded, before Gwyn spoke up. "However, the Celestia you are asking about right now DOES exist. But the settlement keeps moving, making it extremely hard to find it." Said Gwyn, as I looked over at Rei. She seemed to light up at this revelation. I turned back to the two.

"...How do you two know this?" I asked, as they looked at eachother, before back at me and Rei.

"We were born there, that's why." Said Violet, I let out a 'Oh' in response. "However… we were separated in a raid on the settlement. We've been wandering ever since." Gwyn looks downcast, while Violet clenches his right hand.

"Well… why not come with us?" I asked, as Rei looked over at me. "You guys seem like you want to go home, wherever it is, and we don't want to end up dead out here, so it's a win win."

Violet looked over at Gwyn, before the man in question shrugged. Violet looked back at me, seemingly initiating a staring contest. Our eyes locked… And remained locked for 3 minutes without blinking. Violet finally caved, as I quickly shut my eyes, the burning sensation that I had endured was hell.

"Okay… I trust you. We'll stick together then." Said Violet, holding out his hand. I looked down, before grabbing it and shaking his hand.

The sound of a stomach growling brought our attention over to Rei, who was blushing and was probably still pretty famished.

"But first… we should go eat something." I said, smiling at the group we had started to form.

"Sounds good." Said Violet, as he passed me a bow and arrow. "You're hunting tonight."

"Joy…" I sarcastically remarked. Sighing, I went on my way.

* * *

After eating (or in Rei's case, devouring) we had made more room in the camp for the two newcomers; those being Rei and I.

I sat down, staring at the fire in front of me. I closed my eyes, the cool night breeze moving in tangent with my hair. I laid down on my back, relaxing.

"...Hey Rei…" I began, as she turned over to me. I opened my eyes and turned to face her. "...Excuse me for asking… but how old are you?"

"...I'm twenty-seven." She said, as I made a mental note about that. "...What about you?"

I looked up at the stars, the constellations were still the same, that was something I was grateful for right now…

"...I'm sixteen." I answered. I turned to see Rei's eyes widen. "Is it that big of a surprise?"

Rei nodded slightly, recovering from the shock. "You look to be around 19-20."

I let out a chuckle. "Yeah… I get that a lot…" I said, smiling nostalgically. "...It makes things weirdly complicated with my girlfriend…"

There was a silence, before Rei broke it. "You have a girlfriend?" Rei asked. I nodded, before gaining a smile. Nostalgia filling my mind as the memories from the past 7 months filled my mind.

"Yeah… she's… not around right now." I said somberly. "She's alive… I'll see here again, but as things are now… Probably not anytime soon…" I sighed, before looking over at Rei. "It's getting late. Imma pass out now. Night Rei."

I closed my eyes, as I felt myself succumb to sleep. The last words I hear are from Rei.

"...Night Bryce…"

* * *

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Well that was a thing...**

 **This chapter was a bit of a challenge of how to introduce the two new characters and companions: Violet and Gwyn.**

 **Also, Character development…! Ish. Rei will gain more of a character as time goes on, so will Violet and Gwyn.**

 **Also needed to be said, Rei will NOT be in a pairing with Bryce. It may go to the level a brother and sister may have, probably not, but still.**

 **With all of this said, be sure to review, and all that jazz. Feedback both helps me to improve my story, as well as help to keep my writing drive up.**

 **Anywho, until next time…**

 **ALT+F4**


	3. Chapter 3: Kick him in the d ck!

**(Author's Note)**

 **Hey guys, 0n3dgeGaming here. And welcome back to the third chapter of DOFT!**

 **So I have an actual story outline to follow now! Hurray, no writing as I go and hoping that it all doesn't end in a clusterf*ck.**

 **Now that I've gotten that out of the way, onto the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Neps, if I did, I would probably wonder why I owned it, and then never release a new game because I can't program a game with the quality Idea Factory and Compile Heart dish out. Please support the official thing.**

* * *

"Alright, first catch of the day!" Violet said, as he pulled up a rabbit with an arrow sticking out it's *ss.

"Nice shot." I said, leaning against a nearby tree. "Now then. I think you said I needed to learn how to hunt?"

Violet nodded, before taking some quick measurements of some kind, mainly around my arms, and then quickly fastened up a bow.

I gripped the bow in my left hand, before Violet handed me an arrow.

I spun it in my hand, before a nearby deer caught my attention.

"There we go. A first target." Said Violet, as I notched the arrow, before pulling back.

I held the bow horizontally, if playing Overwatch taught me anything, this was the best position.

The arrow flew into the air, before the arrow tip connected with the deer...

Right in the knee.

"Ooh, nice shot." Said Violet. There's probably a lot of people who would disagree with that, due to memes.

I fired another shot, the new arrow flew into the air, before deciding it wanted to start sticking out of the deer's head. Due to this, the deer said f*ck it, and fell over, dead.

I slung the bow over my shoulder, before running over, Violet following.

I walked over, Violet crouching down near before skinning the deer.

"We should be good for now. You're pretty good with that bow." Said Violet.

"I aim to please, and also aim for knees." I said, before looking up. "...It's getting late, we should probably head back to Camp."

Violet nodded, as we walked back.

* * *

Meanwhile Rei and Gwyn were setting up camp.

"...You don't talk much." Said Gwyn. Rei responded in kind.

"Y-you don't really either." She said, Gwyn nodded.

Gwyn pulled over a book from his bag, flipping through the pages.

"...What's that?" Asked Rei.

"It's my journal, it's a way of capturing my thoughts…" Said Gwyn. "...It helps me remember who I am a times. Other times it's just a reminder if I need to remember something specific."

Rei leaned in for a closer look. After a quick skim she could tell it was a journal. But it also had different dot-jots for story ideas in them.

"These are story ideas." Rei said. Gwyn nodded, before closing the book. He pointed out, as Violet and I pulled the meat harvested from the deer back to camp.

"Welp… lunch." I said, looking at the raw meat in front of me. "...This is why I'm a carbavore…"

After eating our share of lunch (or in Rei's case, a third of everyone else's along with her's), we packed up the fire and started our trek.

"So where are we headed now?" I asked, looking over at Violet.

"A military outpost. It's the safest place to be, when it's not under attack that is…" Said Violet, as Rei and I nodded.

"...So I've been meaning to ask…" Rei began, as we stopped and turned to her. "...W-what is that thing around your head?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What? My headphones?" I asked, and everyone around me gained a confused look. "...Seriously? Right… I'm in the past…" I muttered the last part to myself.

I pulled them off and moved them towards the rest of the party. They all got close to it.

"It plays music." I said. Violet looked up at me like I was trying to make a giant fool out of everyone, and succeeding.

"You serious? How the hell does this headband play music?" Asked Violet.

I pressed a button on the side of the right earphone, and the next thing the rest of the party knew, music was playing.

"...What the hell… Magic?" Asked Gwyn.

"Something called bluetooth." I said, putting my headphones back around my neck.

Needless to say, we walked with my music library playing… And then this ended up happening.

Apparently, I have the song: I'm gonna be (500 miles) by the proclaimers on my phone as 4 different files (I don't actually). And after the third one, Violet had memorized the lyrics.

This was the result…

My right arm resting on his shoulder, his left arm doing the same, as we kicked the air as we walked.

And us singing in unison.

"BUT I WOULD WALK 500 MILES! AND I WOULD WALK 500 MORE! JUST TO BE THE MAN WHO WALKED 1000 MILES! TO FALL DOWN AT YOUR DOOR!"

Gwyn was stoic as ever, and I think Rei was just shaking her head in pity. Don't know why…

"DA DA-DA DA! (DA DA-DA DA!)"

Yeah, I think you get the idea.

Anywho, after we effectively made a fool out of both of us, we just walked the rest of the way, listening to NSP, because I don't give a sh*t what Rei thinks of my music choices.

* * *

"Just a little bit farther guys." Said Violet, as we came into view of some barracks, stone brick layer high as a wall to keep out unwanted guests.

I looked up, before seeing someone perched up on the top with a crossbow. I jumped to the side, dragging the party down as the man fired, the bolt sailing overhead.

"Leave!" Shouted the man, as we all stood up. "You're not welcome!"

"We're not here for trouble, okay!" I shouted back.

"We're just here to-" Before Violet could finished, the sound of yelling was heard. Gwyn pulled out his axe, while Rei backed up behind me.

"Open the gate! Quickly!" Shouted the man, before turning to us. "Get in!"

We all turned and ran inside the structure. The gate closing behind us.

"Well well well, if it isn't Violet…" Said The man as he stepped down, he wore green militaristic clothes, if they were laced with leather Armour.

"Hello… jade." Violet said in annoyance.

Jade turned to Rei and I. "Well, who might you two be?"

The man is getting all up in my personal space, and I think Rei agrees.

"Bryce Bridged." I answered.

"R-rei Ryghts…" Answered Rei.

Jade proceeded to give a smile and me theory was confirmed.

' _This man is definitely this world's version of Cpt. Jack Harkness…_ ' I thought to myself.

"Leave your flirting for later Jade." a man in a black version of Jade's outfit walked into view.

"Nero." Gwyn said, as I turned to the white haired individual.

"As much as this is fun and all-" I began, only for more battle cries to cut me off. "But shouldn't we be worried about that!?"

Nero nodded, before drawing a long sword. Jade grabbing a spear from a weapon rack nearby.

Violet drew his Katana, as I moved my hidden blade from my right arm to my left one.

As Gwyn already had his weapon out, he did nothing.

I walked over to Rei. "Stay behind. I don't think you know how to use any weaponry." I said, before grabbing my bow, and a quiver that was lying around.

I looked over at the others, before smirking. I raised my left hand and flicked my wrist, the grapple launcher attached to my hidden blade shot out as I quickly scaled the wall.

"...You have some weird friends…" Said Jade, Rei nodding to that statement.

I peered over the ledge, drawing my bow. The gate opened, as Jade, Nero, Gwyn and Violet charged.

* * *

Jade slide down, avoiding an attack from the bandit in front of him. He rolled and stood up, spear stabbing through the bandit.

3 more lined up in front of him. Jade smirked, as he spun the spear in his hand.

Nero was expertly slicing his way through the wave of enemies in front of him. One bigger bandit thought it would be best to charge at the swordsman, and was quickly dealt with.

Violet and Gwyn walked forward, before looking at the 50 bandits ahead of them.

"This is a big attack…" Said Gwyn, Violet nodding in agreement. "You'll take the 25 on the left, and I'll take the 25 on the right."

"I'm taking 26." Said Violet with a smirk.

"That's the spirit." said Gwyn, as they charged forward.

Gwyn was swinging his axe around, his enemies dodging around him, as he kept hitting a big tree near him.

"You missed!" one of them shouted, before Gwyn let out a slight smirk, before tapping the tree, it tilted more and more before tumbling down and crushing the 24 bandits in front of him.

Violet had already dealer with his 26, before a man walked out, holding a greatsword In his hands.

"So… You must be in charge of this attack." Said Violet.

"Indeed I am." Said the Bandit, before charging Violet.

* * *

I was busy sniping guys from the top of the wall as all that was going on.

"Welp, time to make things interesting." I said, standing up.

I raised my left arm, before firing a weird metal capsule of sorts. Both ends split open, revealing a grapple cable leading from the top of the wall, to a nearby tree.

I jumped off the wall, before using my bow to slide down the rope.

I approached a big group of bandits, they pulled out bows and began to take aim. In response, I dropped from the wire and knocked an arrow into my bow, time seemed to slow down as I fired 3 shots, taking their archers out, before dropping on top of another guy, both breaking my fall, and his body.

I drew back another arrow, flinging the projectile into another bandits chest.

I sword flew towards me, in response, I raised my left arm up, the sword bouncing off my bracer.

I kicked the wielder of the sword in the nuts, having him drop his sword. "Why...why did he kick me in the d*ck!?" The Bandit said, before I Grabbed his sword and finished him off.

I quickly decimated the remaining bandits that had huddled around me, before running over to Violet.

"Need a hand?" I asked, parrying the greatsword as I kicked the bandit back.

"That would be preferable…" Said Violet, as we got into a stance.

"It seems we have another challenger!" Shouted the Bandit. "But it will not stand up, to the wrath of Pong!"

"...His name is Pong?" I asked, looking over at Violet. "...What kind of name is that?" Violet shrugged.

Pong swung his greatsword at us. Violet parried the attack as I sliced off Pong's sword arm.

Not giving anytime to let him scream, Violet decapitated the bandit, his body falling to the floor.

I tossed aside the sword I was holding and picked up the discarded greatsword.

"...Here we go…" I said, springing the sword in my hand.

"They killed Pong! RETREAT!" Shouted a bandit as their forces ran away.

"...Well, that was interesting." I said.

* * *

"To be honest, you guys are pretty good." Said Nero. "...Where are you headed?"

"We're looking for Celestia." I said. "You know Violet and Gwyn, so I guess you know they're from the settlement."

Jade nodded. "I see…"

"...just bringing this up… but this is a barracks." I said. "Why are you two the only ones here?"

"Those bandits from before happened." Said Nero.

"...Oh…" I said.

"...You guys are going to Celestia…" Nero started.

"Maybe we can come with you?" Jade suggested.

"I don't see a problem with it." Said Gwyn.

"S-sure, they can come a-along." Said Rei.

"Well it's settled then. Welcome to the party." I said, extending my hand.

* * *

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Two more people have been added, what's next on our adventure to Celestia?**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please review, it gives me both feedback, and strengthens my drive to write.**

 **Until next time…**

 **ALT+F4**


	4. Chapter 4: The not so safe, safe haven

**(Author's Note)**

 **Hey guys, 0n3dgeGaming here.**

 **It's at this moment that I realize just how copy and paste my Author's Notes are at the beginning.**

 **ANYWAYS! I don't have anything important to say, so let's get on with the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: There is no disclaimer, if you want that, read the other chapters.**

 **ONTO THE STORY!**

* * *

It's been about a week now. A week of non-stop walking and hunting and awkward socializing.

Over this week, I've picked up different things about the rest of the party. Speaking of, Nero and Jade have become an excellent addition to said party.

Nero seems to Excel at fencing and the ability to fix up battle damaged clothes. He keeps to himself a bit, but he's more social than I was when I was still on earth.

Jade on the other hand has only furthered my image of him, as I've seen him flirt with any and all bandits we've fought in the heat of battle, and I still catch him staring at basically every *ss in this party, including his own.

Aside from this, he's actually pretty smart. He seems to understand a lot of technical stuff and he is killer with his spear. Take that phrase as you will, I know I won't.

Gwyn has been an excellent form of entertainment for the group, as he's taken his many story ideas and made then into a weird story of sorts. It's like playing a paper and pen rpg, without the paper and pen, and dice… and everything else.

Gwyn also has been the person in charge of getting firewood, which he does with ease. I see where he practiced his skills with his axe. Turns out trees are the be dummy.

Violet has shown to be a bit of a joker of the group, as he's lighthearted, but also serious in the face of danger. He has shown a great ability for leadership, which I have taken some note of. If I ever get separated, I'm leaving Violet in charge for a while.

And that leaves us with Rei…

Rei has been improving rather well over the week. She's opened up to us a bit more, she doesn't stutter as much, but she seems to have replaced that with a Needless amount of apologizing. I've been told I act similarly, only I say sorry… a lot.

Rei isn't the greatest with weapons yet, seemingly not being able to pick up the teaching knowledge being given.

Which leads us to right now.

"Alright then. As it seems you're not ready to learn anything to... extravagant, I'll need to give you this. Let it be said, it's only for emergencies." I said, holding out my gun.

"...What… is this?" Rei asked.

' _Right, at this point in time they probably only have flintlocks, if we're lucky._ ' I thought. "This… is a M6H2 Magnum. Optimized with hardlight ammunition. It doesn't kill, only seals, leaving your target unable to hurt you." I said. "Now, are you left handed or right?"

"R-right." She said, as I took her hand and tightened it around the grip of the gun, leaving the index finger pointing outwards.

"This, is how you hold it. You should never have your finger near the trigger..." I pointed at said trigger. "Unless you plan on firing the gun. Now, see this small area on the top of the slide, look down it."

Rei did as asked, as a holographic sights popped up. She moved away, the sights disapearing.

"W-what the…"

"Now, the magnum has… 12 shots before you need to reload. To reload…" I moved her thumb to a switch on the left side of the magnum. "Push down, and the mag will drop down. It won't fall out of the gun, so that's fine. Wait about… 10 seconds before pushing the mag back into the magnum." Rei did as said, as I moved her left hand over to the gun, wrapping it around the bottom of the grip. "Hold it like this when you aim, it'll keep your sight steady and make an easier shot."

I then moved her left hand to the slide. "This here will prime the magnum, pull back the slide and a hardlight bullet will enter the chamber, let go and the slide will snap back into place. You're now ready to fire." I said, motioning her to some targets I set up. "Aim at these targets, trust the sights, they will show you where the bullet will land."

Rei held the magnum the way I showed her, before looking down the sights and aiming at the target. A resounding *BANG!* shockwaved around the area. It wasn't too loud, but it was loud anyways.

The target, had a hole in it.

I felt a smile grow on my face. Rei looked back at the gun, before turning to me, a smile on her face.

"I… I did it!" She said, excitement on her face. I smiled back, before gaining a face of 'Oh sh*t!' when she ran over to me, her finger on the trigger still.

I swayed to the left as another shot rang out. I stopped her, before pointing at another switch.

"That's the safety. Turn that on when you're not using it." I said, before giving Rei a brotherly hug. "...You're improving."

"I'm… I-improving?" Rei asked.

"You're more open. Not just to me, but to the party in general." I said. "And while our search for a weapon you can use to defend yourself has been… spiritually taxing…" Rei gave a quite glare at me. "We've at least got you a substitute until we find you an actual one."

"Well said." Violet said, as I turned to face him. "So, what's our fearless leader's plan for today?"

"More walking? I guess. We're lucky we found this spring." I said, looking at all the green around us. "...It's… not something you tend to see nowadays."

"True true, but it's still something to marvel." Said Violet, walking over to us. "And I see Rei here picked up the substitute pretty well…"

"She almost shot me." I said bluntly, as Rei's head fell a bit. "Then again, she's new. And I'm fine, so no harm no foul."

Violet nodded, before turning around. "The others are waiting for us."

"Glad they are." I said, as the three of us returned to the rest of the party.

* * *

And so we walked, for 3 days. Along the way we fended off bandits, the occasionally rare monster, and boredom.

"Okay, so… A million dollar, but every time you act disinterested in a girl, someone falls out of the sky on top of you." I said, as Nero thought on it for a question.

"Look, I'm still confused as to how a girl would fall out of the sky." Violet said.

Rei gave a laugh. Nero nodded. "Yeah, I'd take that." He said.

"Looks like you're a million dollars richer." I said, laughing.

"Whoa!" Someone shouted from above.

"...Did anyone else hea-"

Nero was interrupted as a girl In blue clothing crashed into him, she had what appeared to be flintlocks all over her. Her brown hair covered her face before she moved it out of the way.

"A gunslinger…" Said Jade. Violet and Gwyn had different reactions.

"DE!" They shouted, running over to the girl and enveloping them in a hug.

"Wha-!? Violet!? Gwyn!?" DE asked in shock, as Nero stood up, he stretched before a resounding *crack!* was heard, as he calmed down. "Where have you guys been!? We thought you were dead!"

"We were separated during a raid, we've been trying to find this place ever since." Said Gwyn.

DE looked over at the rest of the party. Rei shrunk in her gaze, even if DE was shorter than Rei by a small amount. Nero gave an eyebrow tilt, rubbing his back. Jade gave a wink, because of course he does. And I walked up, hand extended.

"Bryce. Bryce Bridged." I said, as DE shook my hand. "Me and Rei over there joined up with Violet and Gwyn on our way to find celestial, and Jade and Nero joined us after we helped defend their barracks, or at least, what was left of it."

"So I take it you're in charge then?" Asked DE.

"That is true facts." I responded.

"Look, never mind that! Why the hell were you falling out of the sky!?" Asked Nero.

"..."

"...DE, what's going on?" Violet asked, as Rei got our attention.

"G-guys… There's smoke!" She said, as we turned to see a large pillar of black smoke rise from further down.

"No!" DE shouted, running towards the area.

"Wait… if DE fell out of the sky… and she knew Violet and Gwyn from before, and she ran towards the… smo-OH MY GOD!" I shouted, chasing after her.

"Bryce!?" Rei called out, but followed.

I free ran my way towards DE, catching up to her.

"You need a hand?"I asked, jumping over a tree lying on its side.

"...I'm not sure if that'll help at this point." Said DE.

We made it a clear in, finding what appeared to be a large settlement of sorts… and it was up in flames.

"DE!" Shouted a voice. DE turned to the left and ran towards some ruble.

It was at this point that the others ran up to me.

"Oh my god…" Rei said, covering her mouth.

"What happened here?" Asked Jade.

Violet and Gwyn were silent, but the aura they were giving off was murderous.

"Hey, can I get a hand over here?" Asked DE, as we ran over to find her trying to lift a pile of rubble. "Niitani is under here and I can't get her out!"

I looked over at Jade. He nodded back as we walked over and lifted the large debris off Niitani. We chucked it to the side.

"You alright Niitani?" Asked DE.

"I'm fine…" She said. Taking a closer look at Niitani, she had pink hair, and seemed to be outfitted as a combat medic.

"Thanks for the help." DE said.

"We're not out of the frying pan yet." I said, turning around.

A giant explosion knocked me onto my *ss, as the rest of the settlement was destroyed.

A single man walked out of the flames, followed by basically an army of Bandit looking mother f*ckers.

I stood up, signaling for everyone to stay behind me.

"...So… like what I've done to the place?" The man asked, a dagger in his right hand. "Celestia is a safe haven they said, it was impossible to find, they said."

The man extended his arms."WELL LOOK AT IT NOW!"

"...Look, this conversation is really being quite one-sided right now." I said, staring at the man in front of me. "Who… the f*ck, are you?"

The man stopped, turning to me. "Did you not get my introduction at the beginning of this pleasant event?"

"PLEASANT EVENT!?" Violet shouted in rage. I held my hand up, as he stood back.

"We just arrived." I answered.

"Oh… okay, that would make sense then…" Said The man. "Alright, let me tell you my name."

"My name… is Retron." Said the man, as I heard some of my party give a light Gasp.

"...Who?" I asked, as everyone around me looked at me like I was an idiot.

"...What do you mean _WHO_? Retron! The monarch of raiding? The catalyst of destruction? The antagonist of this story!?"

"Only for the first half." I said, keeping my ground.

"...Holy sh*t, you don't know who I am…" Retron said. "...I don't know whether to be happy or disappointed."

"Whatever the case, If you'll excuse us, we'll just be on our way…" I said, taking a step back, the party standing up behind me.

"Not so fast kid…" Retron said, as the group of bandits behind him walked up. "You're not leaving here. At least, not in one piece."

"Is that a threat?" I asked, narrowing eyes.

"I dunno dumb*ss, you tell me!" Retron sarcastically replied.

Suddenly, 3 gunshots went off, 3 bandits explode into a mass of pixels, and Rei aims the magnum at Retron.

"...Not gonna lie, was not expecting that… Speaking of, the f*ck was that!?" Retron yelled out.

"Retron, this… this, is my BOOMSTICK!" I shouted.

"Wrong gun." DE replied.

"Now is not the time!" I shouted back, before dropping a smoke bomb on the ground. Where'd I get it, the bomb rolled over to me while they were talking.

And with that, we ran. Far.

* * *

"That… that was insane…" Said Jade.

"You can say that again." Said Violet.

I looked around, no sign of any danger. "Well, we should probably set up camp for tonight." I said, as the others nodded.

Violet and Gwyn went to get firewood, Jade and Nero went to find food. Rei and I set up camp, and DE was getting patched up by Niitani.

Once all of that was done, we decided we should get our new party members associated with everyone.

"You're name is DE?" I asked, getting a nod in response. "What's it stand for?"

"DE."

"Yeah, what does it stand for?" I asked again.

"DE!" DE responded more forcefully.

"YEAH, WHAT DOES IT STAND FOR!" At this point I'm just messing with her.

"DE! IT STANDS FOR DE! D! E!" DE shouted back.

"This party's getting crazy!" Violet suddenly shouted.

"Look, the joke lost it's spark, let's jest move on." I said, before turning to Niitani. "You're a medic?"

"Best one in Celestia… at least, when it was still a place." She said.

"...Who the hell is Retron?" I asked, everyone turning to me. "What?"

"I know we just had this conversation, but how do you NOT know?" Asked Nero. "He's the most feared bandit in Gamindustri."

"Your point?" I asked.

"You saw what he did to Celestia!" Said Jade.

"I've seen worse, and fought worse." I said.

"...HOW!?" The entire party asked, including Rei.

"Don't question, just accept." I said, as the others gave me weary looks. "Look, two things: One, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. Two, I'm not comfortable disclosing said info right now."

The others accepted that answer for now. I sighed and layed down.

"...What did I just get myself into?" I asked myself.

* * *

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Well, that was good! I think, I dunno…**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Now that Retron's been revealed, we finally have a villain to hate, I guess.**

 **Side note: Retron is based off the Retron5 if anyone is asking. (I realize it's not from before the atari, but I needed a villain name and it was the best I got.**

 **Another side note: All the members of the party (excluding Rei and Bryce) are the ancestors to different characters, I think I made that pretty clear but I'm unsure. Time to play the name guessing game, I guess.**

 **With all that out of the way, that was this chapter I guess.**

 **If you want, please review, it helps me improve and greatens my drive.**

 **Until next time…**

 **ALT+F4**


	5. Chapter 5: Days of a remembered future

**(Author's Note)**

 **Hey guys! 0n3dgeGaming here! So SO sorry about the wait on this, I've been busy with the revival of sort I gave Cards against Gamindustri.**

 **With that said, ONTO THE STORY!**

* * *

"So we all agree then." I said, as we stood around what was the remains of last night's campfire.

"On what? All you did was just stand up abruptly when no one was talking and just spur that line out." Said DE.

"...I needed a good opener to the chapter." I said.

"The what?" Jade asked.

"Anyways! We can't stay in one place for too long, Retron is after us so we need to stay on the move." Said Violet.

"Violet is right Bryce." Nero said. "You also seem awfully calm about all this."

"Please, he's basically his own Hype man, to the point I expect him to shout out: I AM THE HYPE!" I said. "Guys like him are taken care of really quick. At most they're around for 5 chapters. That's about it."

Everyone looked at me funny. Deciding that no one understood the concept of fourth wall breaking, I realized that they probably had a point.

DE and Niitani probably new better than anyone how powerful he is.

"...Alright, I get it. Let's move, we probably stayed here too long." I said, standing up.

And so we traveled, gaining a bit of distance as we traveled down south. Eventually, we arrived at what seemed like ruins.

"This place looks familiar." I said, as we walked inside the ruins.

"This place seemed to have been overrun, there's moss and Flori everywhere." Said Gwyn.

"W-what happened here?" Asked Rei.

"That… is another question entirely." I said. "Let's go further in, we should be able to find a good place to set up camp."

Everyone nodded, as we walked further in.

I hung back a bit, looking over at Rei.

"...You alright?" I asked.

"...I guess?" She said, looking up. "I just found out that the only safe haven imaginable in this world of war and disappointment, was just another disappointment."

"...I can't tell if that's sarcasm." I said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "...How exactly are you taking all of this?"

"...I don't know? I'm used to disappointment. Before I met you… I never was really shown compassion. I was always just a nuisance. Not even worth it to kill." Rei said. "...I feel more comfortable around you. It's weird, but I want to thank you for this."

"Thanks." I said, looking ahead.

"Hey guys! I found something!" Shouted Jade.

Rei and I shared a look, before running over to the others, finding them standing around what appeared to be a strange rock formation covered in moss and flori. It seemed to be wedged into the ground, and had a diamond shaped indent on what appeared to be a dashboard of sorts.

"...What is this?" Asked Gwyn.

"I don't know." Said Jade.

"Then why call us about it?" Asked De, as she looked closer.

"Because something felt off about it." Said Jade, as he looked over at me. "...Got any ideas."

I sighed, before tracing my finger around the indent.

"...It can't be…" I murmured to myself.

"What can't be?" Asked Rei.

"...You want to know what this is?" I asked, to which I got a nod in return. "This… is a lightcycle, or at least, a variant I made."

"What do you mean Made? Also, the heck is a lightcycle?" Asked Violet.

"...I think it's time I told you all my story. Why I'm here, and about this." I said.

"I feel really lost right now." Said Niitani.

"You aren't the only one." Said Gwyn.

I sat down, motioning for everyone else to join me.

"...Where to start? The beginning works." I said, starting a fire in the center of the circle. "...So I need to be frank with all of you… I'm not from around here."

"I think we got that part." Said Violet.

"No, I mean, I'm not from this TIME." I said, as they all looked at me like I was crazy. "...Look, I'm from far into the future, when the world is a lot more peaceful than normal."

"Just hearing how that is sounds too good to be true…" Said Rei.

"And it also makes you sound crazy." Said Gwyn.

"It ends up that way, the peace thing, not the crazy thing. That was only for the AU chapters." I said, looking down, a smile on my face. "...I came into the picture soon after. I was just 15 at the time, lost, confused, I was scared. And god DAMN was I snarky as hell…"

I stared into the fire, as I felt eyes on me as I told my story.

"...My life was changed that day, the day I got tied up, accused of theft of a goddamn wall, and may or may not have also been sexualy harrased, kind of forget the details." I said, looking off to the side.

"How can you forget those kinds of details!?" Exclaimed Violet.

"There is such a thing as repressed memories." Said Niitani.

"And trust me… she can do such things." I said.

"She?" Asked Rei.

"My wife." I said. "Or at least, before she even became my girlfriend…"

"Anyways, after much time spent trying to get them on my good side, and trying to convince them I wasn't someone to hate their guts with, I eventually had a run-in with a man named Dark." I said. "...It was there that I found out truly the power that I had access to."

"Power?" Asked Gwyn.

"Yeah, see I wasn't ever FROM this world. Or, dimension really. Unsure if anyone understands." I said. "See, during my travels to this world, I ended up… absorbing some sort of power. I don't know where said power came from. All I know is that It's the reason I could do some amazing things. I could heal wounds with the snap of my fingers, I could burst into a mass of pixels and warp a few feet forward. I could also stop time and do so much more."

"I can see why you thought Retron was just talking big now that you say all this." Said Nero.

"You can do all this, and you haven't? Why?" Asked Violet.

"I've said everything in the past tense so far." I said. "I lost my powers, sacrificed them to… make sure I ended up where I did."

"What do you mean?" Asked Rei.

"I'll explain as I go on." I said. "SO! After what was basically an evil version of myself bent on complete universal implosion, I may or may not have gave myself amnesia so I wouldn't die."

"Wait why the hell would you do that?" Asked Niitani. "You do know that remembering something after suffering from amnesia is likely never to occur, let alone remembering EVERYTHING."

"Well it happened." I said. "So, moving on. After spending a month or two as an assassin myself, due to being told by a different group that has no ties with the above assassin group that I was a clone, I was eventually of no use to them, because I had apparently taken some guys out that they liked, or something like that. So, I eventually left, found myself taking a bite in the ass after realizing that the last contract I did was to try and assassinate my girlfriend, I basically was on the run from both the new group, AND my old friends. I went by Raider during this time."

"I feel there are several plot holes in all that." Said DE.

"Hey I wasn't in control on the events that transpired. Basically, found out that my girlfriend got a sister, who sorta was just born a 5 year old suddenly, don't ask please, regained my memories, and then finally put an end to the assassin group from before. The new group apparently ended up suffering from bankruptcy… or something. Basically, they're gone." I said. "So, I then actually died, don't ask, and was sent to another dimension by the name of the Hyperdimension. See, we're in a dimension commonly referred to as the Ultradimension. So when I arrived, I came across a girl by the name of Neptune. Violet reminds me of both her, and my wife." I said, gaining a weird look from Violet. "I mean in features. You look like the male love child of the two, that's all I'm saying."

"Okay then…" Violet said, leaning back.

"Anyways, so Neptune was getting ganged up on by three other girls who wanted her out of the picture, and I stepped in and defended her." I said. "The three girls I mentioned before were named Vert, Noire, and Blanc. They also share a resemblance with Jade, Nero, and Gwyn respectively."

"So what, are you saying that these girls are our descendants or something?" Asked Nero.

"It would make sense." I said, leaning back. "They have counterparts in the Ultradimension as well, so it feels more likely."

I sighed. "Anyways, after falling out of the sky, don't ask."

"That tends to be the theme…" Said DE.

"Neptune and I met a nurse in training called Compa." I said, looking at Niitani. "I think you can see where this is going."

"Descendant?" Asked Violet.

"Yep. See, the ultradimension and the hyperdimension share inhabitants, or at least, versions of them. So, after deciding to help Neptune with her amnesia that she got, we ran into another girl by the name of IF." I said, before everyone looked at DE.

"...I don't think I need to be told the similarities." Said DE.

"Anyways!" I said. "After getting into a run in with a witch, don't ask, we found something known as a key fragment. See, this key fragment was one of four, and once we had all of them, we were able to free someone known as Histoire from this Witch known as Arfoire."

"So what? You guys just found all of them and freed this, Histoire?" Asked Violet.

"Well, yeah. However, the difference is that while we did go through this, we made friends with Vert, Noire and Blanc, the ones from earlier, and then we freed Histoire." I said. "...And then came Celestia."

"Celestia?" Asked Rei.

"See, Celestia in the Hyperdimension was a place where the Goddesses waged something known as the 'Console War'. The winner would get the title of true goddess." I said.

"So what happened to the goddesses?" Asked Gwyn.

"...Oh right, I didn't say… so apparently, Neptune, Noire, Vert and Blanc, where those goddesses from before, and I happened to be the one dumped into the middle of the war." I said. "So once it came to it, I sacrificed my power and defeated Arfoire. And as such, was back in Ultradimension."

"Long story short, God married, ran into a weird dead looking guy, who grabbed me as I was sent back in time, and then met Rei. And that's the story so far." I said, leaning back.

"...So what about the Lightcycle?" Asked Nero.

"Huh?" I asked.

"You just said a bunch of things, and then didn't explain the bike." Said Nero.

"...Well, I was building it as a… prototype of sorts. However, I'm almost certain it came here when it disappeared during a misshapen with another 'project' Neptune's Sister, Nepgear, was working on." I said.

"...So, how exactly does it work?" Asked Jade, leaning into the bike.

"Well, it uses a… strange power source." I said. "Something called a CPU memory."

The room suddenly became silent.

"...I stepped on a land mine didn't I?" I asked.

"I'd more say you're insane." Said Violet, as I turned to him. "CPU Memories are something no one wants to trifle with. You use one on yourself, you turn into a monster."

"...I'm sorry?" I asked, turning to him. "Or are a lot of the people here misinformed? CPU Memories CAN turn you into a monster, but it's only a 50/50 chance." I said. "If you get the good side of the coin flip, you become a god."

"Well people sure don't seem to be getting heads on said coin flip." Said DE.

"She will." I said, pointing at Rei, as everyone looked at her. "In my time, she was the goddess of Tari, the nation founded before all others."

"I… I'm a goddess?" Asked Rei.

"...Well, not right now. Plus, I don't know if I messed the timeline up by helping you out that night." I said. "You were supposed to be so hungry that you ate a CPU Memory by accident, but now… I don't know if you'll ever become a CPU, but hey, we never know."

I sighed. "...I'm going to head for a walk, I… some air." I said, grabbing my greatsword as I walked off.

* * *

"...Is it true? Is it even possible? Did I really screw my timeline up so much?" I asked myself, as I sat further into the ruins. I sighed.

"...I miss you…" I said to myself, looking down at my phone at a photo of Plutia and everyone else. It was a Christmas photo, and I was wearing the necessary ugly sweater, Plutia wearing one as well, however, it seemed to be several sizes too big.

"...I'll find a way back." I said, turning my phone off. "...I'll have to…"

I placed my hand on the ground next to me, about to push myself off the floor, when I felt my hand press into a familiar texture.

I gripped the object as I pulled up something that both spelt good, and bad news.

"...Well, maybe I haven't screwed EVERYTHING up." I said, looking at the CPU Memory in my left hand.

* * *

As I walked back to camp, the sound of screaming caught my attention.

"Crap!" I shouted, running to the campsite, finding everyone gone, the campfire having been smashed out, and a note etched into the wall behind the still decaying Lightcycle.

' _Retron was here.'_


	6. Chapter 6: Arc 1 Finale Part 1

"..."

The silence was deafening, as I stood there staring at the message for me with eyes filled with hate.

I felt my hand grip the CPU Memory in my hand before dropping it and backing away from it, the Memory having started to glow a tad.

"...Let's not go out of our way now…" I said to myself, placing it in my pocket.

I turned to look at my Lightcycle. It was untouched.

"...And that was your mistake." I said, before the sound of footsteps caught my attention.

"He should be back by now! Retron said to capture him! He needs to see his friends die in front of him first!" Shouted someone as they closed in.

"Thanks exposition." I said, before drawing my bow and notching an arrow.

As the first hostile walked into sight, I let go of the arrow, the projectile flying into his face.

As his body hit the floor, his 3 friends all turned to me.

"Get him!" Shouted one of them.

I put my bow back, drawing my greatsword. "Come get some!" I shouted, parrying an overhead swing from one of the hostiles, his swing relatively slow, and easy to parry.

I kneed him in the face, before running through him with my sword.

As his body fell down limp, I ducked below another swing from a dagger. I extended my hidden blade, blocking the next attack, as I the stabbed the guy through the knee.

"F****CK!"

I pulled my sword out before ending his misery, decapitating him.

I turned to the last hostile, he seemed to be backing away. I took a single step before he dropped his weapons and raised his hands.

"Don't hurt me please!" He exclaimed.

"Where did Retron take them?" I asked, closing in.

"Our home base… You can't miss it." Said the bandit. "It's to the west of here."

I sheathed my sword, turning around.

"...You're going to kill me aren't you?" He asked me.

I gave a passive look back as I put a hand on my Lightcycle.

"...I'm sorry… Lin…" He said to himself, his head looking at the floor.

"Lin?" I asked, turning around.

"...My daughter. It's a dog eat dog world, and I needed to keep her safe. So I became what I am today, keeping her hidden away from Retron." Said the Bandit.

'And we have the ancestor of underling it seems.' I thought to myself, noticing the green hair on him.

"...I know what it's like to be worried for family." I said, giving a slight smile, before pulling out the CPU Memory. "...With that said, I'll leave you be. I'm going to get payback."

The bandit's eyes widened. "T-that's a CPU Memory! What the hell are you doing with that!?" He asked in fear.

I smirked, before placing it in the slot on the Lightcycle, the CPU Memory shining as the foliage and hardened rock and dirt quickly evaporated, the faded paint job returning as I ran a hand over the now green and beige coloured bike, violet lines of what seemed to be energy running along the bike.

I dropped my Bow and Greatsword onto the floor, now that the bike worked, I wouldn't need them.

I got onto the Lightcycle, taking my phone and placing it on a slot, as it turned around so the screen face the bike and then lowered into the bike, a holographic screen popping up.

I swiped my hand around a few times, directing the screen so it was on what appeared to be a navigation screen.

I turned to the bandit. "...Well bye!" I shouted, before driving out of the ruins. As I broke sunlight, something shot out of the bike, before returning down, an updated map for the time period showed up, as I saw a large structure some ways away.

"...Let's go then." I said, setting the GPS tracking to there. Once that was done, I moved over to music, before scrolling through my music, leaving my selection on a choice but not letting it play yet.

"...I'm coming for you Retron." I said.

The Lightcycle took off! The force of the wind blasted my face as I leaned into the bike. Steering to the right as drove down the road ahead of me.

I swerved to the left, avoiding a tree, before swerving again, finding that I had taken a route through a forest.

I looked in front of me, finding bandits stationed with longbows. As they saw me fast approaching, they drew their arrows and let them fly. I increased my speed as they fell harmlessly behind me.

The sentries then turned to run, as I drove past them, as I saw the exit of the forest up ahead.

I increased my speed, both exiting the forest and driving off a ledge, as I quickly approached incoming land.

The bike touched down, giving a light bounce as the bike adjusted for fall damage. I looked up ahead finding a large group of people enter what appeared to be, from the outside at least, an arena made of wood.

I increased my speed, before pressing a button on the side of my bike, something launched out of the bike and flew right to where the opening of the base was.

A man that I instantly recognize as Retron turned around, holding Rei with her arms behind her back. I glared at him, as I quickly approached the opening.

I drew my Magnum, before firing a shot at the canister, Incendiary mesh flew out, coating the entrance, as the base started to catch fire.

Retron looked shocked, before he finally noticed me, and the fact that I was quickly approaching.

I pressed two buttons on the handle bars on each side, turning them into the bike. The bike quickly started opening up, as small boosters on the bottom of the bike pushed it into the air.

I spun around in the air, the bike transforming into a suit of armour that shared a resemblance to the air assault armour from Halo. I landed in front of Retron and everyone else, as the flames behind me slowly spread around us.

I looked up, as the helmet finally formed onto my face. Looking back down, I saw the CPU Memory was right at the center of my armour.

I stood up, turning to look at everyone as they all gave me looks of terror, the CPU Memory probably not helping them remain calm.

"...Okay then… Let's roll." I said, my voice slightly static-y from the in suit radio. "Computer, cue the music."

 **(Play Light em up/My songs know what you did in the dark - Fall out boy)**

Retron stepped back as did a few other bandits, taking my friends over to what appeared to be makeshift cells.

What appeared to be Retron's 'muscle' appeared, as I looked over them.

"8 on one huh? That seems hardly fair." I said, before cracking my knuckles. "You need more men."

They roared as I got into a combat stance. The thruster pack on my back and feet burst to life, as dashed to the side, avoiding a swing from one of the big guys.

"That all you got!?" I asked, dashing forward as I kicked the man down, grabbing his leg as I broke it and slammed it into his face. "Guess not…"

"Kill him!" Shouted Retron, as The seven other guys ran at me.

"Don't worry guys." I said, grabbing one of the guys' arms before snapping it at the elbow, as I proceeded to slam MY elbow into his face.

Another down, six to go.

*Smash*

 _Five_ to go.

"It'll be over soon." I said, grabbing two incendiary grenades, before tossing them in front of me, the blast taking out the remaining five.

"...Uh…" Retron took a step back, before glaring at me. "...I'm going to kill you for this."

The flames at this point had spread entirely around us, the entire area was up in flames.

"You're already dead." I said, glaring at him beneath the helmet as I dashed forward, slamming my hand into his… open palm!?

He closed his hand around mine, before rotating my arm, forcing me to contort so I didn't break anything.

The thrusters on my back fired up, as I slammed my knee is to him, forcing him to let me go.

I jumped back, finding him with a sick smile on his face.

"Did you honestly think I was just someone's hype man?" Asked Retron.

"To be fair, I thought you'd be the guy who would say 'I AM THE HYPE!' so… not exactly." I said, as I looked over to the makeshift cages, finding the others out and fighting off attackers.

"See here's the thing, Bryce." He said. "You are the first person to bad mouth me once my reputation got where it is. And for that, you have both my respect, and my hatred."

I smirked. "Charmed, I'm sure."

I stood up, before looking down at my right leg, what appears to be a Handle of sorts comes out. I grab it, before spinning it around my thumb, a blade of hardlight emerges, as I point it at Retron.

"Alright then… Let's do this then." I said, charging forward.

Retron grabbed a sword that had been discarded. He glared at me before charging as well.

The first thing I noticed was that my sword was a lot lighter than I was used to, the second being that Retron is a lot stronger than how I first thought.

I jumped back, dodging an attack, before rolling for damage, and attacking for 26 points of damage.

Retron blocks with his sword, however it isn't enough, as my sword easily cuts through his.

I smirk, before something slams into the side of my helmet. The force of the impact sends me flying towards Violet and Rei.

"Bryce!" Shouted Rei, as she ran over to me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but I'm worried about the suit." I said, standing up, as I read the visor hud. "Hmm… _the wait time for HL3's confirmation_? Wow, that bad huh?"

I grab my helmet and toss it aside, the visor cracking upon landing.

"Violet! Take care of Rei!" I shouted, gripping my weapon. "I have something to take care of…"

Suddenly, muscle number six reappears. He's also somehow fine.

"...I never really dealt with you, did I?" I asked.

He just growls at me, before charging. I dash to the side, my thrusters allowing me to gain some distance.

"Let's try this again!" I shouted, charging back at him. I slid under another swing as I decapitated the guy.

"Well then." I turn around quickly, only to get punched in the face. I stumble back, before looking to see Retron pulling the CPU Memory out of the suit.

He successfully rips it out, tossing it aside. The suit auto ejects me, as I falls to the ground useless.

I roll over, as I slowly stand up.

"You know… I would normally monologue, but f*ck it." Retron said, gripping a new sword.

* * *

 _ **POV CHANGE: REI**_

I look on helpless as I watch Bryce stand against Retron. Bryce's suit seems to be useless now.

"What do I do…?" I asked myself, before I see the CPU Memory in front of me, and a familiar scene flashes before my eyes.

 _ **FLASHBACK…!**_

" _I'd more say you're insane." Said Violet, as I turned to him. "CPU Memories are something no one wants to trifle with. You use one on yourself, you turn into a monster."_

 _"...I'm sorry?" Bryce asked, turning to him. "Or are a lot of the people here misinformed? CPU Memories CAN turn you into a monster, but it's only a 50/50 chance." Bryce said, as I gave a look of confusion. "If you get the good side of the coin flip, you become a god."_

 _"Well people sure don't seem to be getting heads on said coin flip." Said DE._

 _"She will." Bryce said, pointing at me._

I grabbed the Memory off the ground, before walking over. As Retron went to kill Bryce, I let out a single sentence, and then everything went white.

* * *

 _ **POV CHANGE: Bryce**_

"Well… it was fun while it lasted." I said to myself. "No walking off this death…"

"Hey!" Rei shouted, as Retron and I turned to her. My eyes widened as I saw her holding the discarded CPU Memory, said item giving of a light that was glowing in power. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

And then it happened.

A pillar of light shot up from where Rei was standing as a shock wave of what I could only assume to be Share energy surged through the area.

"WHAT DID SHE DO!?" Violet asked, as he ran over to me.

"...What she was destined to." I answered, as once the light faded, The Goddess of Tari appeared. "Ladies and Gentlemen and that technicolor rainbow in between, this… is CPU Blue Heart…"


	7. Chapter 7: Arc 1 Finale Part 2

The entire camp had been silenced at this development, as everyone excluding myself looked on at the sight in shock.

I however, looked on with a sense of foreboding, as I felt my hand reach for the Magnum I had still had strapped to my leg.

"...W-what… what the hell is this!?" Retron questioned, as Rei looked down at herself, before extending her hand. In a flash of light, a staff materializes in front of her. "And what the hell happened to your outfit!?"

True to his words, Rei's outfit had undergone some… drastic changes. The same could also be said for her physical appearance. She was a lot… bigger, than she was before, and her outfit was a lot more revealing. She wore what could basically be described as white horns with a blue highlights to them on her head.

"As your final mark of idiocy on this world, proceed to ramble on and on." Said Rei, causing Retron to grit his teeth in anger.

"...That can't be Rei." Said Violet. "She wouldn't speak out like that."

"Well, it is Rei… but not." I said, sighing. "See… HDD, the form she's currently taken, can change both appearance, and… well, behaviour and character traits."

"Unreal…" Said Violet, shivering. "What is that power… it's terrifying!"

I nodded, my face still serious. I looked to my right, finding that there were hostiles inbound to Rei's location.

"Rei! You got incoming!" I shouted, as she gave a smile. She turned around, swinging her staff in motion, as the weapon smashed into the side of one of the hostiles, his body flinging into another hostile.

I pulled out my magnum, pressing the mag eject button on the side. As I waited for the magazine to recharge, Jade, Gwyn, Nero, DE and Niitani ran towards me.

"Bryce! What happened to Rei!?" Asked Niitani.

"Well…" I said, looking over as Rei started to decimate the hostiles that got in her way. "...Let's just say she got the good side of the coin flip."

"You mean…!?" Jade asked.

"Yep. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… CPU Blue Heart." I said. "I hope that's what we're saying is that form's canon name…" I mumbled the last part to myself, as I slammed the magazine back into my gun. "I'm going to help Rei, you guys keep hostiles off our back."

Violet nodded, as Gwyn kicked a guy away from our group. "Way ahead of you." Said Gwyn.

I smiled, before running over to Rei. She was quickly taking out every foe in her path.

"Missed a spot!" I shouted, unloading two rounds into a bandit that charged at her back.

"Bryce?" She asked, turning to me, slamming the bottom of her staff into a bandit's gut.

"NO… I'm the milk man!" I shouted, grabbing a bandit's arm, before snapping it at the elbow, gut punching the guy for good measure. "In all seriousness, you alright?"

"Never better!" She said.

"Glad to see this little pow wow of yours is going SO well for you." I turned to face Retron, seeing him spit out some blood.

"If your's don't, ours have to." I responded, tightening my grip around my gun.

"It seems we're doing this then!" I shouted, charging at Retron.

"Come at me then!" He shouted back, following suit.

I flipped my Magnum so I was holding it by the barrel, before swinging it down at Retron. My gun collided with some metal arm guards that Retron was wearing.

In response, I was gifted the pleasure of being punched back a few feet.

As I pushed myself off the ground, I saw Rei charge at Retron while he was distracted.

"DE!" I shouted, causing the gunslinger to look at me. "Flintlock, now!"

She nodded, tossing me the firearm. I grabbed it by the barrel, before shoving it into one of the pockets on my jeans.

Raising my magnum back up, I fired on Retron while he was busy with Rei, effectively giving her cover fire.

Rei quickly slammed Retron into the ground, before picking up a nearby sword and raising it above Retron's head.

"Oh no…" I said to myself, before sprinting over to Rei. "Rei! Stop!"

The blade stopped an inch away from Retron's nose. Rei turned to me as I dropped my magnum to the ground.

"Why are you stopping me!?" She asked, as I calmly walked forward.

"Let me answer your question with another one. Are you Retron?" I asked. Retron looked at me with a look of 'You are so goddamn stupid'.

"What kind of question is that!?" Asked Rei, as I took a breath.

"Have you ever taken a life? Have you?" I asked Rei. "Because that kind of thing changes you. You no longer become the person you once were."

"You become exactly what you wish to kill." I said, walking up to Rei. "...Deactivate HDD, and step away from the psycho."

Rei stopped, before tossing the blade to the side and walking behind me.

"I don't know what you were planning. But I don't think you know what you just le-" Retron was cut off as his forehead gained a new hole, as smoke came out of the Flintlock barrel in my hand.

"What the hell was that!?" Asked Rei, as I turned to face her. "That whole thing about not killing, and you do THAT!?"

"...I've killed before." I said, dropping the Flintlock. "You haven't. I don't want you to become him. I already became who I didn't want to be… I just hide it well."

Rei looked at me, before a Column of light shone around her, and she returned to normal.

"...You are so stupid…" Rei said, a small smile on face, tears rolling down her face.

"...Yeah, I am." I responded. I turned to DE. "Thanks for the gun."

DE just shrugged, before I put my arm on Rei's shoulder.

"...So… now what?" She asked.

"...I don't have that answer." I said honestly.

"I however, do." Said a new voice, as we all turned to the source, finding a small girl in black clothes floating on top of a black book.

"...F*ck." I said, looking at who I could only assume to be Croire.

* * *

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Hey guys, 0n3dgeGaming here.**

 **Sorry about how small this chapter is, but I wanted to end the cliffhanger quickly.**

 **With that said, until next time...**

 **ALT+F4**


	8. Chapter 8: Fast Fowards

"Bandits, ten o'clock!"

"Got em! Jade, on your six!"

"Thanks for the warning. Everyone get to cover!"

"So anyone mind refreshing my memory as to what's going on right now?" I asked, leaning out of cover and letting an arrow fly into an oncoming bandit.

"The west gate entrance has been severely damaged in their last attack, we're working on repairs, but we need to buy them time." Said Violet, wiping some blood off his katana. "I'm surprised that they still have this much men left…"

"It's not the same faction." Said Gwyn, spinning his axe in his hand. "These are more barbaric in nature than the last one."

"Yeah, they don't really seem to have a plan of attack…" I said, biting my bottom lip. "They are somewhat smart, but only enough to the point where they knew to wait for our defenses here were lower than normal."

"Which reminds me, why did you insist that we only have US protect this area!?" Asked Nero, as an arrow flew overhead.

"Well, if we reroute guards from other sections to this one, those other sections will be a lot less defended." I said. "What's worse than having one weak area."

"Having more than one." Said Jade.

"Exactly." I said, peeking over cover and letting another arrow launch. "Come on, we got stuff to take care of."

It's been 3 months since we took down Retron. All has been relatively peaceful. At least, it was about as peaceful as it normally was in this time period.

Rei had finally started making her nation, one which she had started calling Tari. She currently had two oracles, Croire and myself.

Let me tell you, I had to honestly fight for my current position. It wasn't a fun time.

In a way, I was the angel on Rei's shoulder, and Croire was the devil on her other.

Anyways, things have been moving along steadily as of late. This kind of bandit attack wasn't really the norm anymore.

Though I DO question why Rei had thought it a good idea to build her nation atop of the camp that Retron was defeated in. Probably something sentimental about it, that, or it was just because it was where she became a CPU.

Anyways, I won't bore you with the fight scene, instead let's rewind to when we first met Croire.

* * *

"I however, do." Said a new voice, as we all turned to the source, finding a small girl in black clothes floating on top of a black book.

"...F*ck." I said, looking at who I could only assume to be Croire.

"No. No. NO. And SO MUCH NO NOPE!" I shouted, aiming my Magnum at the black clothed fairy.

"Whoa! Whoa whoa whoa!" Criore shouted, as she backed up.

"You, why are you here, EXPLAIN!" I shouted, aiming my M6 at the fairy.

"Hey, can someone put the attack dog on a leash?" Asked Croire.

"Attack dog-!?" I began, before being cut off.

"Hey there, my name's Croire." Said Croire.

"...Okay." Said Violet, putting his hand on the top of my gun, lowering it. "So, why are you even here?"

Croire points a thumb at Rei. "She's why."

"Me?" Rei asked.

"...Alright, enlighten us." I said, putting my Magnum away while continuing my glare.

"I'm here because she, just became a CPU." Said Croire.

"...So what, you've been summoned to become her Oracle?" I asked, as everyone turned to look at me.

"...You're surprisingly knowledgeable." Said Croire.

"Was I not supposed to be?" I asked.

"...Okay, can someone explain what's going on?" Asked Nero.

"An Oracle is sorta like a CPU's mentor of sorts. Well, it's different." I said. "Being an Oracle, you are a CPU's right hand man, or fairy."

"Care to go into more detail? You seem to know more than anyone else here." Said Croire. "Which is good, because it's a pain in the *ss for me to say it all anyways."

"As an Oracle, their job is to guide a new CPU through their tasks, showing them the ropes and teaching them. Eventually, the Oracle takes a more backstreet role and mainly helps with other things."

"Hmm, you know your stuff." Said Croire. "While I would have worded it differently, that's the summary version."

"...Okay, but what exactly do I do?" Asked Rei, as me and Croire turned to the CPU. "You keep saying Oracle, or mentor, but… to what?"

"...Rei, what did I tell you about the memory?" I asked.

"..." Rei thought on this for a second. "In my time, she was the goddess of Tari, the nation founded before all others…"

"That's it." I said.

"Your time?" Asked Croire, looking at me funny.

"That's right. I'm from the far off future, where the events here are a distant legend, almost no one bothers to remember." I said. "And, I'm here to be her Oracle."

"I'm sorry, but YOU?" Asked Croire, looking at me. "You're hardly qualified!"

"Am I?" I asked. "The role of the Oracle is to guide their CPU to becoming the best goddess they can be for their people. Which, may not be the best thing, considering the last time I check, your moral compass, was a f*cking roulette wheel!"

"Alright then, time traveler, how about you tell me how she even builds her nation?" Asked Croire. "How does she start?"

"..." I remained quite.

"You may have good intentions, but you don't know anything above the tiny basics." Said Croire.

"...You're right." I said, before turning to Rei. "Sorry, I've been speaking for you. Look, Croire… can be help to getting your nation started. However, I wouldn't listen to ALL of the advice she'd give."

Rei just looked between us, before sighing.

* * *

"Bryce! Stop having a flashback and help us!" Shouted Violet, as I ducked just in time as an arrow flew over my head.

"Alright alright!" I said, slinging my bow and arrow across my back. "...Well… no time better than now."

I grabbed hold of the hilt of a sword that was resting on my back, before swinging the weapon in front of me. A purple mechanical sword of sorts resting at my side. (The sword in question is the sword from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, I believe it's called the Aegis, but apparently no one is calling it that so…)

I looked over the look of the weapon, getting a good grip on it.. I had someone in town re-purpose my hardlight hidden blade into this sword here. I hadn't had a chance to try it out yet, so here's hoping it didn't blow up in my hands.

"Show time." I said, pulling my right index finger back as it found it's way onto a weird trigger mechanism on the sword's hilt. As I pulled said trigger, the sword seemed to open up, as a green blade of light erupted from it.

At this, I felt a smirk rise to my face.

"It's a success!" I said, smiling.

"And you'll soon be dead!" Said a voice to my right, as I looked over to see a big dude with a giant hammer swing at me.

I quickly sidestepped the attack, gripping my weapon's handle as I swung at the bandit's midsection.

He was soon quick to fall, landing on the ground basically dead.

"And stay down." I said, running over to the others. "How many more?"

"We're almost finished up here." Said Nero. "Care to help us finish off the last wave?"

I smirked, bringing my sword up in front of me. "Damn straight!"

And we that, we charged into the horde.

* * *

"Alright… wait wait… a little more to the right… There!"

I walked over to Jade as he was watching over some of Tari's builders fix up the breach in the defenses.

"So, everything going well?" I asked.

Jade chuckled. "I don't see why it wouldn't be right now." He said, looking at me. "You've really been helping Rei out with making this nation a safe haven. I'd have half the mind to say some of the people here believed in you more than Rei."

I smirked. "Well we apparently can't have that…" I said, before looking up at the sky, the sun almost fully overtop of us. "It's about… 1:00 PM right now…"

"Don't you have like a meeting or something with Rei and Croire?" Asked Jade.

"That I do, you can handle everything here?" I asked.

"Please, this is probably going to be easier than what you have to deal with." Said Jade.

"Glad to know that I'm not the only one who doesn't like Crore." I said.

"She didn't really give many reason to be liked in the short time I've known her." Said Jade.

"What, she turn you down?" I asked, only to get slapped upside the head. "Worth it. See you around."

I sighed as I walked into Tari, the nation before all others.

This was the nation in its prime, before everything all fell to sh*t… And I would try to keep it like this for as long as possible.

I let out a sigh. "We have a meeting regarding some civilians and some sort of issue their having. No doubt Croire isn't going to give a crap… Guess I have my work cut out for me…"

I walked up to the nation's basilicom, as the guard's saluted me as I walked past.

A guard was waiting downstairs for me it seemed, as the moment I walked into the room, they made a beeline towards me.

"Oracle, I'll escort you to your destination." Said the guard, as she seemed nervous.

As we arrived in the elevator, I was quickly reminded how old styled the elevator was.

I looked over at my escort. "First day on the job?"

"Yes sir." Said my escort, as she seemed tense.

"Alright then." I said. "Lighten up, okay? And call me Bryce. Oracle doesn't roll off the tongue as much as I'd like."

"Yes sir- Bryce." Said the Guard.

The elevator dinged open, as my escort saluted me.

I let out a short breath I didn't know I was holding, as I left the elevator and opened the door to the meeting room.

"Alright, I'm here now. The breach has been dealt with and we're working on fixing the wall as I speak. So… shall we get started?" I asked, closing the door behind me.

"Let's." Said Rei, currently in her CPU form, as Croire sat opposite of me.

I gave a smile as I looked over the file in front of me, before looking out the window at the nation below us.

Times were good as it currently stands. Even with the issue of Croire being present, but it was good.

Honestly, it's too bad it wasn't going to last.

* * *

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Hey guys, 0n3dgeGaming here! And I am SO,**

 _ **SO**_ **GODDAMN SORRY about this not coming out sooner.**

 **But I needed to get this out ASAP, which means that I did cut it off down the middle. Mainly in hopes that I'll have something to work off of when I start the next chapter.**

 **I'd also like to say this chapter may be paced weirdly, but next chapter will most likely fill in things that I left out.**

 **But for now, hope you guys enjoyed this.**

 **And until next time…**

 **ALT+F4**


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